It's no wonder so many people love gardening. It allows one to spend time in perfect tranquility, tending the earth and enjoying the stillness and serenity of nature. Gardening gives you a good reason to get dirty, and feel the warm earth between your fingers and toes. You are able to enjoy a sense of accomplishment when garden, as you carefully plant and attentive pamper your crops. Best of all, gardening produces tangible, colorful and delicious results for all of your hard work.

Every gardener has tools that he or she swears by. Some use modern gadgets and equipment to tend their gardens, while others swear by the simplicity of sticking to the basics. Gardening without tools is virtually impossible, at least in the initial preparation stages. The selection of gardening tools you'll choose should reflect your personal gardening style, as well as the size and extent of your garden. Your tools should also complement the amount of work you're able to handle, the time you spend gardening and, of course, the amount of money you're willing to pay.

Cultivation is Key

It's not necessary to spend a great deal on high-tech gizmos or expensive tillers, but every gardener should have some type of cultivating equipment. In spring, the earth must be dug up, turned and irrigated. Most people incorporate fertilizer into the cool springtime earth as well, and the right tools can certainly make this task a lot easier. Depending on how serious you are about gardening, there is a huge variety of cultivating tools available.

Hand tools are the typical choice of traditional gardeners. These include shovels, pitchforks, spades, rakes and trowels. All of these hand-held gardening tools will aid the gardener in preparing the plot for planting. Although they do call for some elbow grease, these tools are relatively easy to use. Other common hand tools are the pickax, mattock and wheel cultivator.

Do You Really Need Power?

Power tools are a little more expensive than hand tools, but they really cut down on the hard labor. The tiller is undoubtedly the most essential gardening tool, particularly for people with large plots of land or physical concerns, like back problems. Using a tiller is a fast and easy way to break up the ground and get it ready for planting. Tillers can also help to mix fertilizer and compost into the earth, and chop up any debris. Tillers are very expensive to purchase, so many garden centers and tool supply outlets will rent them for a daily fee. Or, you can ask a friendly neighbour to lend you theirs. Other popular power tools that help many modern gardeners to prepare for the season ahead are shredders, chippers and chainsaws.

Pruning tools are handy to have if you have hedges, shrubs and small trees on your property. Pruning shears are fine to use for branches about 3/4" in diameter, while lopping shears can handle branches from 1/2" up to about 2". Taller trees and shrubs require pole pruners, which allow the gardener to extend their reach to branches as high as 15 feet from the ground. Heavy-duty hedge shears and pruning saws are also handy gardening tools to have on hand.

Constant Watering

Plants need water in order to survive, and nature doesn't always take care of this business. So, it's essential to have tools and equipment on hand to keep your garden nicely watered. If you have a larger garden and a grass lawn (though grass lawns are falling out of favor), you'll definitely need to have a garden hose with a good quality spray nozzle or sprinkler. If your garden is limited to containers such as pots and balcony planters, you may be able to get away with a simple watering can. Some gardeners use drip hoses for proper irrigation, and more advanced gardens have entire irrigation system set on timers to provide accurate watering.

Getting down and dirty with nature and creating a lush, healthy garden is a dream come true for many homeowners, but trying to create or tend that garden can be a nightmare without the proper tools. You don't have to invest a lot of money; purchasing the basics including a shovel, trowel, pitchfork and leaf rake is often all you need. And be sure to pick up a good pair of gardening gloves, or you'll quickly have callouses on your hands along with that dirt under your nails.